Hearing will be held to determine fate of TTC union local president

A hearing will be held to determine the fate of the president of the TTC's largest union who is currently suspended after he allegedly tried to split the local from its U.S.-based parent union.

Bob Kinnear will have a chance to defend himself, says Manny Sforza, temporary trustee of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 10,000 TTC workers. 

The local was placed in a temporary trusteeship by ATU International on Friday, the same day that Kinnear was removed from his position, said Sforza, a former vice-president of the local and the union's current international vice-president.

• TTC union boss says he was booted by American 'invasion'

Sforza said the union hopes to announce the hearing date soon and to hold the hearing within weeks. A separate union officer will handle the hearing, he said.

"Bob Kinnear will be able to speak and plead his case," he said.

"The 10,000 members across the city should rest assured that everything is going smoothly. Well, maybe not as smoothly as we would like, but it's functioning properly."

ATU wants 'quick transition'

Ten out of 17 union local executives also suspended on Friday were reinstated later that day. Sforza said all 17 were immediately suspended when the union local was placed under trusteeship.

Two are being interviewed to determine if they are going to be reinstated while five have failed to report to the union office, he said.

"We want to make sure this is very quick and smooth transition," Sforza said.

"The trusteeship was necessary to restore union democracy and to protect the integrity of the local and to ensure the valuable member assets are not jeopardized."

Sforza accused Kinnear of violating local bylaws and the union's constitution.

Kinnear, for his part, accused the ATU, which is based in Maryland, of staging an American "invasion" of the union local due to the local's affiliation with the Canadian Labour Congress.